The second of the three big World Poker Tour events at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida will wrap up tomorrow as the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale has reached its final table. Though the six-handed final table was determined on Tuesday, the players have the day off on Wednesday so that the first event of the trio, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, can play out its ten-handed final table. You follow? Don’t worry – just know that the Finale is down to its final table and that Richard Leger is the chip leader with 4.01 million chips.
It should be a spirited final table, as four of the players have competitive stacks. After Leger is Chino Rheem with 3.43 million chips, Aditya Prasetyo with 2.62 million, and William Benson with 2.23 million. Adrian Mateos and Bryan Piccioli have their work cut out for them as the short stacks with 850,000 and 535,000 chips, respectively.
Though Leger is the top stack, the story of the final table is Chino Rheem. Rheem has already won two World Poker Tour titles and should he win on Thursday, he would join Carlos Mortensen, Gus Hansen, and Anthony Zinno as the only players to win three WPT trophies.
His appearance at the final table also probably frustrates many players in the poker community. Several years ago, it came out that Rheem owed other players a substantial sum of money – into the six-figure range – and at the time, did not appear to be trying to pay anyone back. He was the winner of the first event of the quickly-defunct Epic Poker League, but was suspended after the “deadbeat” allegations came out for not “meeting ‘financial responsibilities on time and honoring contractual agreements.’”
In 2013, Rheem won the WPT World Championship, cashing for $1.15 million. Many hoped that he would use his winnings to pay back those he owed, though he was almost certainly backed in the tourney, so much of his winnings likely went right to stakers. We do not know if he has settled all of his debts, but reports over the last couple years are that he has at least taken strides to pay back what he owes.
In his post-match interview after the WPT World Championship win, Rheem said:
[The win] was very special to me because I’ve been given a lot of chances in my life, and before when I had a score I would tell myself that I wouldn’t put myself in the same position, and I still found myself in the same position. Hopefully I can have a better outlook on life and what I’m going to do with it. I’m definitely going to try to not be so impulsive, and just make better life decisions.
As mentioned, the final table for the Finale will be Thursday. The final table for the Showdown, where Cate Hall could make a run at the WPT Player of the Year top spot, is today.
2016 World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale – Final Table Chip Counts
1. Richard Leger – 4,010,000
2. Chino Rheem – 3,430,000
3. Aditya Prasetyo – 2,620,000
4. William Benson – 2,230,000
5. Adrian Mateos – 850,000
6. Bryan Piccioli – 535,000
